Saks taps Mustafa, Villa

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Saks Incorporated has made two promotions in its Saks Department Store Group (SDSG) private brand and product development area based in Birmingham, Ala.

Harris Mustafa, with nearly 30 years of merchandising, finance, and planning experience in the retail industry, has been promoted to executive vice president of private brand and product development for SDSG. Mustafa joined SDSG in 2003 as senior vice president of planning and operations for private brand. Prior to that, he was senior vice president of business planning for Williams-Sonoma, Inc. Between 1987 and 2002, Mustafa was with Payless ShoeSource, Inc., where he rose to the position of senior vice president and managing director of Payless ShoeSource International. He will report to George Jones, president and CEO of SDSG.

Steve Villa has been promoted to senior vice president and general merchandise manager of ready-to-wear and intimate apparel for private brand and product development for SDSG. Villa's retail career spans over 30 years. He joined SDSG in 1998 as vice president of product development for Studio Works, one of SDSG's largest volume private brands. In 2003, he assumed additional responsibility for Breckenridge, a women's brand introduced earlier this year. Villa held merchandising and strategic business development positions with Charming Shoppes between 1995 and 1998 and was with Sears for 24 years prior to that, where he held various merchandising, marketing, and store positions. Villa will report to Mustafa.